A Method to my Madness
by Hearing-Voices-Since-1995
Summary: When held in Shinjuku's Behavioral Psych ward, Izaya finds himself more confined than he's ever been when Shizuo, an RN, is assigned to be his new 'sitter.' Starting riots on the floor and leading patients to their death, Izaya continues to fight his way out, even befriending the very man who's meant to keep him in. (Psycho!Izaya, Shizaya w/o love, future character death, dark.)
1. Chapter 1

A hospital is a place for sick people, a place where the injured come to be helped and the sick healed. Taking the course of a registered nurse, Shizuo had only those thoughts in mind. He wanted to help people instead of being the one to cause them pain. It's the main reason he took an interest in the field in the first place.

Heiwajima Shizuo was a man who, at first glance, would seem like any other. He had had a normal childhood, went to school, and spent his free time in the cityscape acting like all the other kids his age did. The only difference was he was alone. He didn't have friends like everybody else. Instead of people seeking him out to become more than acquaintances, they shied away, afraid to be the next one to get caught up in his anger-filled wrath.

And he hated himself for it.

The blonde had an easily irritated personality and a temper to boot. He was teased as a child, ostracized out of the pure selfishness of the other children. You could guess how well that went.

However, after high school, Shizuo's long-term friend and trusted companion suggested that he follow a line of work in which he could be the one to help other people. Shinra, as he was named, was aiming to be a doctor himself, having always been interested in the field and following in his father's footsteps. Shizuo had dismissed his suggestion almost right away, his lack of research on the subject leading him to believe that such a career would take years of expensive schooling and hard determination which he just didn't have.

Shinra had swore time and time again that the field of work was a broad one and that it had many short-term work leads and, after two years of failed job attempts, the blonde had decided to take him up on it. To his surprise, the bespectacled man was right. He had found a job in which he was generally positive about and was determined to stick with. Now, four years later, Shizuo was a proud owner of a nursing degree, working on the hospital floors as an RN and probably the happiest he had ever been.

The hospital was staffed by smart people, people who knew what they were doing and had been compassionate enough to dedicate themselves to helping people. Of course that wasn't to say that people didn't still piss him off. Some doctors had an ego that could rival Narcissus's himself and there was always the occasional patient who would swear up and down that they had every illness known to mankind.

They never stayed long.

The man thanked his lucky stars that today was not one of those days. Instead, he was surprised to find that he was being moved from his regular routine schedule and placed in a different area of the hospital. Earlier that morning, Shinra had approached him, his usual positive attitude radiating from every pore on his body as excitement seemed to have replaced the blood in his veins. He spent the next half hour droning on to Shizuo about his roommate Celty, and how he was planning on proposing to her the following weekend. Naturally, Shizuo was happy for him, but after so long he had interrupted him in an attempt to remind him that he had had an ulterior reason for stopping him on his rounds.

"Oh! Right! As of today you will no longer be working here with the in-hospital patients. You're being moved to the behavioral health ward."

"Behavioral health ward?"

"Mmhmm~. It's basically a psych ward designed to help kids and adults work on living normal lives which they've been hindered from doing as determined to be by some mental illness or chemical imbalance of the brain." The short, brown haired male explained all of this as he went through some files at the nurse's station, pulling out Shizuo's new information packet and the details of his specific assignment.

"They've been having problems with a particular patient; I don't know his name right off hand, but he's supposedly been the one causing all the recent uproars. I hear he almost succeeded in causing a riot on the floor."

"And they think putting me there will stop him?" Shizuo couldn't hide the skepticism in his voice as his face shown clearly what he was thinking.

"Not exactly. They're hoping that you'll be able to keep him under control. You do have that way about you. But look, I'm not the one that decided this. I don't have all the details." He said with an encouraging smile as he handed Shizuo the file, "Just head on over there and see for yourself."

With a last encouraging grin and a pat to his shoulder, Shizuo was left alone at the desk as he watched his friend leave, his coat fluttering behind him. With nothing left to do, the blonde flipped through the papers, finding where it was he was supposed to be and heading to the elevator as he made his way to the fourth floor.

As expected, things were much different than what he was used to. The doors all around required a security key and were made different than the ones in the rest of the hospital. It was strange; gave an almost foreboding feeling to the place. Shizuo couldn't exactly say whether or not he was comfortable with it, but he didn't really have a choice in the matter anyhow.

"Ah, you must be Shizuo." The blonde turned at the sound of his name, mocha eyes coming face to face with friendly brown hues, "The name's Tom. Welcome to the floor."

Tom seemed like a simple man. He was of average height and was strangely enough, a foreigner; however, his Japanese sounded almost natural and he wondered how long he had been here.

"Yeah, I'm Shizuo. Nice to meet you." He paused as the air between them became something close to awkward, him shifting his weight from foot to foot as he waited for the tan skinned male to give him some sort of direction.

"Uh, anyway, things here are pretty simple. That over there," he said as he pointed to a somewhat enclosed area, "Is the day room. It's where patients spend most of their time doing organized activities, having free time, or when they're having group. Those tables there are where they have their meals and down the hall there are where the rooms are located."

Shizuo nodded as Tom pointed out each individual area and gave short explanations for each one. Things seemed relatively calm at the moment. The blonde had arrived during free time, each of the few individuals doing their own thing and seeing this as a great opportunity, the male made his way to the nurses' station in the ward and sat down, going through the papers and acquainting himself with each of the residents.

Most were pretty simple; there was one that was in for delinquency, Kida Masaomi, one who showed signs of psychosis, Ryuugamine Mikado, a girl who had been off the walls enough to go slashing people in the name of love, Niekawa Haruna, and a man by the name of Orihara Izaya.

Izaya's file was thicker than the others' by far. He was listed as a priority, a danger to himself and others. It was written that he was a sociopath, a man with a god-like image of himself who went on about a life after death and a war that would lead him to a place called Valhalla. He was basically crazy.

A schizophrenic nut.

And he was the one that was supposed to babysit him. He could only wonder what his personality was like; whether or not he would be another one of those people that Shizuo found it hard to get along with. He wasn't up to committing his time to some narcissistic asshole who was only going to cause him problems.

With a sigh, the practiced nurse got up from his seat, stepping into the dayroom and taking a look around. The boys, Masaomi and Mikado, sat together talking idly over a baseball game that was on the TV set in front of them. Neither one seemed to be particularly interested, the blonde going off on frequent tangents as the camera seemed to hit a 'particularly attractive' girl in the stands every now and then. Haruna sat alone at one of the tables, a piece of paper set neatly on the table as she scribbled the same name over and over again in an almost manic state. However, in the room, Izaya was nowhere to be found.

-He must be in his room.

Shizuo considered this thought for himself before turning on his heel and making his way down the hall, checking each room number until he came upon the deranged man's. The door was closed; the knob unlocked, and as Shizuo opened the door, a shrill squeak filling the hall. It was a dimly lit room, nothing particularly worth noting. It was even what one might call bare, with the exception of the bookshelves that held numerous amounts of the things.

It was from the bed that he heard it, the calm cool voice of the man he was to meet. It came from the bed, a lithe figure lying back in an eased position looking at him with a look in his surprisingly red eyes that Shizuo couldn't place.

"Orihara Izaya?" Shizuo asked as he stepped forward, inviting himself into the crazed man's room and making sure to stand next to the doorway. He didn't like the thick tension in the air. It was coarse, grating against his senses as it willed him away.

Izaya didn't want him here.

Bed springs creaked at the shifting of the skinny occupant, his form almost eerie as he brought a leg up so he could rest his arm on his knee, his gaze downcast as his raven locks covered any expression that he might have been making. And then, from thin pink lips, came the last thing that the blonde thought he would hear. . .

"Heiwajima Shizuo."

His name.

Izaya had somehow already known his name, and as possible as it was, it sent a chill down his spine. It was like someone had come up behind him and ran a finger down his spine, just enough so that he could feel it.

Shifting on the spot as he tried to rearrange his thoughts, Shizuo resorted to looking anywhere but the man in front of him, "Yeah, that's me, but I guess you already knew that. Look, I'm not here to really converse. I just came to introduce myself as your, well, I guess you could call it personal assistant."

As quickly as the words had left his mouth, the raven's head snapped up to finally meet his gaze, locking him in a battle of wills between brown and red. The unwanted image of blood stained dirt seeming to conjure itself in the elder male's mind.

"You're too kind, Shizu-chan,"

-Shizu-chan?

"But this little greeting of yours really isn't necessary. I know you don't want to be here. In fact, I can tell by the way you're holding yourself that you'd rather be anywhere but here. Let's not beat around the bush. I love a good game, but you're not what I'm looking for."

Mocha hues seemed to dilate and Izaya didn't miss a beat. No, this Shizuo man was certainly not was he was looking for. He was cold and antisocial from the looks of it; someone who didn't get along with people all too well. He needed someone easy, someone whom he could befriend and eventually make his way out of this place with a little manipulation. It wasn't hard with a little practice; unless, that is, the person knew who they were dealing with, and even then they seemed to fall prey to his bewitching antics.

Sometimes the things he loved most could be such a bother.

Without warning, Izaya stood from his spot on the bed, his bare feet hitting the floor without a sound as he made his way over to and past Shizuo.

"I expect not to see you again, Shizu-chan."

And just as the shorter male made to walk away, there was a disturbing silence.

Silence because without realizing it, Shizuo had grabbed Izaya by his upper arm, his tight grip crinkling the sleeves on his shirt.

His glare went from the hand on his arm and back to the almost dumbfounded look on the protozoan's face.

Shizuo could tell he was treading on thin ice, the look on the man's face clearly displeased at his physical action. But he couldn't help it. This man, this psycho in front of him just had that air about him. Like he really thought he was above it all, above _him_ as a person. It just made him so frustrated that anyone could really think that and believe it.

"That's quite a grip you have there," The dark haired male commented lightly despite the cold look he shared between them, "Mind letting me go? I have to take my medication now."

-Liar.

Yanking his arm free from the blonde's grasp, Izaya gave one last look of warning before sauntering off down the hallway, indeed making his way to the window at the nurses' station, leaning on it with a fake smile as he talked to whomever it was that was on duty at the moment, that condescending look never leaving his face.

And just like that, a rivalry was established between the two men who would be sure to find themselves in many a rough situation. Both knew this wasn't the end. Shizuo would still be there the next day, and the day after that, **and the day after that**. He would persist him until there was nothing left for Izaya to do but give up.

But that wouldn't happen.

No, Izaya would work things in his favor like he always did, wrap the blonde around his finger, play the leader, and when he didn't need him anymore, just when he was beginning to get so close as to cut off his circulation, he'd cut the rope.

He'd win.

He always won.

Nobody on this deteriorating planet was going to keep him from meeting the gods and standing alongside them in the haven that was Valhalla.

. . .

**Well? Am I doing better as a writer? I feel like been lacking here and there as I've been sick and putting things off.**

**But I get the urge every now and then to pick things up again. Right now specifically Psycho!Izaya.**

**So please review guys. Let me know what you think and give me any suggestions on things that you thought could have been done differently or whatever you think is worth mentioning. Encouragement is always great.**


	2. Chapter 2

Tick tock.

Tick tock.

Tick tock.

Fifteen minutes.

Thirty minutes.

Forty five.

An hour.

Going on two.

For what seemed like an eternity, Izaya sat in a secluded spot in the dayroom, his feet pulled up to his chest as he pressed a thumb to his lips, chewing on the peeling skin on the side of his nail and creating tiny sores.

Shizuo wasn't quite sure what the deal was, what was keeping him there for so long that he could so calmly sit and watch the TV and shift just a bit, just enough to catch the blonde nurse in his view and glare at him.

He hated him, hated how those eyes the color of blood looked at him, watching his every move as he ate his lunch, picked things up, cleaned, relaxed, anything. He never stopped. He was beginning to think that this was just a bad idea all together; even daring to wonder whether or not he could quite while the going was good.

But what good would that do him? Nothing; he wasn't the type to quit in the first place. Really this was all just a shitty situation, but he was going to make the best of it. He'd show Izaya that he was no weak man, far from it, and he would put the psychotic raven in his place once and for all.

Looking up, caramel hues widened and darted around as they did not find the image of the patient, Izaya seeming to have gone off on his own while he was lost in his own little world.

He cursed, getting up and searching the floor as he rushed to find him. Already he was losing this little fight between them. Izaya was showing him who was boss. Or at least he was trying. He wouldn't get away with such a thing. He wouldn't give up.

"Shizuo-san~?" a voice, a girl's voice, rang behind him.

It was the only girl, Niekawa Haruna. Her face held nothing but a wide innocent-like smile, though to anyone who had any brains at all, they could tell it was much more than that. It was insanity. Her eyes were empty save for the look of what appeared to be admiration, the orbs darting over the brute's form as she stood with her arms behind her back.

"Shizuo-san," she spoke again, now confirming he was what she called him, "Izakuma snuck out to the court yard."

-Izakuma?

Of course, the name was more than fitting; a mix between the name Izaya and akuma.

"Thanks." Was his only reply as he turned and headed for the clear glass doors, a small paper with the words, "Warning: AWOL," written on it.

He couldn't help but to feel like she was watching him as he left, a soft sentence leaving her mouth that he didn't catch. Truly one of the people that truly belonged here.

. . .

Bright blue skies, and insistent buzzing, and soft green grass beneath bare feet, the image of the raven standing in the courtyard where all the patients that were give permission to were allowed to go.

Not that he was one of them.

No, Izaya was not supposed to be anywhere but the floor and his room. He was just too much to handle. They thought it a punishment to do so to him; little did they know though that it really fed his ego. He got to them, dug deep under their skin, burrowing and making a home there as he continued to eat away at them. It was nothing to the raven. Just another challenge for him to overcome.

And it was quite easy really. He had managed to make his way out here plenty of times. So why didn't he just leave? Well, it was simple really. Even though he was a physically skilled man, the walls were high enough that even he couldn't manage to directly scale them, try at he might. And even if he managed, there was barbed wire around the top, the sharp silver coils flowing with a strong electric current that would send even Team Rocket blasting off again.

"Izaya!" vermilion irises blinked rapidly as his eyes flickered to the left, Shizuo barging through the double doors as he stomped angrily in his direction, "You're not supposed to be out here!" he called over.

Looking at him fully now as he turned completely to face him, his mouth went from a straight line to a wicked smirk, his shoulders pulling back as he took on a confident position.

"What are you going to do about it~?"

Silence.

And then—

"I'm gonna kick your little flea ass!"

. . .

**Been forever since I updated this. I have to admit, I kinda missed it.**

**Well I hope those of you that are reading this are enjoying it so far. Please be kind and leave a review for dear Author-san~.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Do let me apologize now for the long absence. I think a lot of my lack of need to write comes from role-playing, but I'm going to try and break a line and make more time for this. **

**I've finally graduated high school (actually that was back in May I haven't written all summer OTL) and am starting college here on the 19****th****. But I promise to make more time for this.**

**. . . . . .**

"You're going to kick my ass?" came that ever snarky reply to Shizuo's previous threat, Izaya clearly enjoying this just a little too much, "What a concept. I'd much rather you do something a little less violent, but well, I can be a bit of a masochist."

What was that? Did Izaya just imply that he wouldn't mind having sex with him?

No.

No he did not. Not in his mind.

While Shizuo stood with that confused and angered look on his face, the raven took this opportunity to slip on by him, brushing his shoulder in the simplest of ways with his own, but managing to send a million different signals. Yes, he had indeed implied that they have themselves a bit of natural fun only two horny humans could have, where was the point in hiding it? He supposed the real question was whether or not he meant it, and boy did he.

He was human after all, right? He had the same needs as any other man, occasionally waking up with that ever annoying morning wood as they called it and having to stroke himself to elation in the bathroom just to get himself in order. He hated it. Up until a year ago he was easily able to find himself a partner when he needed one, spending a night or two together before parting ways. Now it's not to misunderstand, Orihara Izaya was not a whore. He did not sleep around with anyone and everyone; in fact, he often had a select few that he would call upon when the need arose—no pun intended—. But here, sitting in this facility and dwindling away his days in which he should be working, he was left with nothing. More than 365 days had passed and he was left hanging.

Whish wasn't fair either. He was sure Masaomi and that little raven haired kid had gotten down and played a few rounds of the hanky panky, something he was jealous of. A month prior to his little riot, Izaya himself had been working on the blonde, befriending him and making subtle hints in such a manner that Kida had considered him a good friend in a place he didn't want to be. It wasn't until the Sociopath had pulled a stunt which resulted in humiliation that he began to hate him.

With a psychotic chuckle, Izaya shook his head of his no longer needed memories and went back into the building, leaving Shizuo to stand dumb founded in the grass. It took him a moment, but the blonde did regain himself, cursing under his breath and following after the raven, making sure he headed back to the floor.

Why was it that he had to be that way? He was sending him mixed signals all over the place and frankly, it was pissing him off, and even unnerving him. Hell, he had a mental patient coming onto him now, the same one whom he had fought with just the other day. It was ridiculous. He didn't know whether he was mocking him or if he should be flattered.

It wasn't like he was some prepubesant virgin teen. He was currently 24 and in charge, getting himself a date every now and then with the occasional bedroom fun. Sure, he was awkward and worried far too much about hurting other people with his inhumane strength, but he did manage to have a bit of a life despite it, even if it never lasted.

The RN near violently shook his head once he was back on the floor, fixing his attention back on the situation at hand as he searched for Izaya. Once more he found him, sitting in that same spot in the day room and talking to Niekawa, the pair exchanging small words here and there, mostly focused on the topic of people and their love for them. If he didn't know any better, he'd say they belonged together, but the thick scars that covered the woman's skin convinced him otherwise. She'd murder her next lover just as she had tried to do with her first, even if it was one sided.

"Shizuo-kun, how are things." As if on cue, the blonde let out a noticeable sigh at the familiar voice, turning around to see the man that had started him on all of this.

"Shinra, I don't know if I can do this," he admitted, turning to face the man as he rubbed the back of his head, "It's barely been a day and he's already got me up the wall. I'm gonna kill him before it's over." Just thinking about it made his muscles tense.

Shinra laughed and shook his head, patting Shizuo on the shoulder as he looked up to him with strangely grey hues, "Don't let him get to you. He's crazy remember? Aha, he's nothing but a delusional bully. If you remember that, I'm sure you'll be able to handle him. Look, you haven't lost your cool yet right? Just be positive."

There it was, Shinra's innate ability to see the glass as half full rather than empty. It was a pain in the ass sometimes but he had learned to put up with it, even when he was sure the other was wrong.

Heaving another sigh, Shizuo pulled out a small smile, nodding his head as he looked over his shoulder to make sure his patient hadn't snuck off again, "I guess you're right."

"Glad to see you understand. Now, for the reason I came to find you, " he paused to smile, fixing his glasses. Shizuo near flinched at the ominous relfection that masked the brunette's eyes from sight before realizing that he was indeed a barer of bad news, "It's bath time, and guess who you get to help."

No.

No.

**NO.**

**. . . . . . **

**Yes, next chapter will be interesting indeed~. Make sure to leave a review guys. I thank those that continue to follow and review the story. 3 **


End file.
